this Issue

"SPECTRUM" First Prize winner
in the 1933 Los Angeles Regional contest of the Sears
Century of Progress quilt contest made by (inset) Edith
Matthews of Winnemuca, Nevada.
From the inside cover Spring 1933 Sears, Roebuck and Co catalog.
THE GREAT CHICAGO QUILTING BEE OF 1933
by Barbara Brackman
Mary's and Doug's. But some of the quilts
inspired by the Sears contest have endured,
splendid and unusual souvenirs from the
1933 fair.
The "Century of Progress in Quiltmaking
Contest" was announced in the Sears, Roebuck and Co, post-Christmas catalog in
early 1933. Below an invitation to customers and friends to visit the Sears, Roebuck
Building at the fair was the question, "Do
you quilt?" This was followed by the announcement of $7,500 in prizes that would
be awarded in a national contest to be held
in conjunction with the fair. In a tantalizing flyer - "Think What Winning the
Grand Prize Would Mean!" - the rules and
prizes were set forth. First prize was
$1,000 with the promise of an additional
$200 bonus "If the Grand National Prize
Winner is an original design commemorating
the Century of Progress." Many women did
indeed consider what winning the grand
prize would mean, since $1,200 was more
than twice the average annual family income
at the time.
With only five months to work between the
announcement and the May 15 deadline, seamstresses all over America nevertheless delivered a total of 24,878 quilts at the
doors of their local Sears stores. Overwhelmed, company employees unpacked the
Barbara Brackman has been researching century
of Progress quilts. She has been successful in
locating 40 quilts made for the contest. If you
know of a quilt which was entered in the contest please contact her. This article first appeared in WORLD'S FAIR magazine, Corte Madera,
California. It is reprinted with permission
A Century of Progress, Chicago 1933
world's fair, was a press-agent's carnival.
To divert Depression-weary newspaper readers, Hollywood starlets were ready to expose a leg or two in front of any and all
exhibits. Details of the India-to-Chicago
trek of a dedicated Hindu fairgoer were
flashed around the country. On a dull day
there was always a contest; one to discover
the person with the most freckles, another
to find the most beautiful baby. There was
a "Healthiest Boy and Girl" contest; and
Mary Pickford chose the "Ten Happiest Married Couples in the United States" (six
months before she filed for divorce from
Douglas Fairbanks). And Sears, Roebuck and
Co. sponsored a contest in which thousands
of women competed for the titled of "Best
Quiltmaker" in the country.
Fifty years later the freckles have faded
and undoubtedly the most beautiful baby is
no longer quite so beautiful. Some of the
happy marriages probably went the way of
*See pg 13
CENTURY OF PROGRESS
by Joyce Gross
Forty years after Chicago's highly successful 1893 World's Columbian Exposition
the city decided to sponsor "A Century of
Progress" in celebration of the 100th anniversary of its incorporation. "It ranks
with the greatest of similar enterprises in
the U S or abroad."* The site, within a
mile of down-town Chicago, was on the shore
of Lake Michigan. It was all on filled land
with one pert of an island connected to the
mainland by several bridges.
The Exposition was officially opened on
May 27, 1933, by a beam of light from the
star Arcturus which by the magic of science
had left its source the year of Chicago's
first World's Fair and was now being used
to throw a switch which illuminated the
grounds and buildings.
"The theme of the Century of Progress was
immediately evident. It included form,
light, color and motion. Architecturally
the buildings struck a new note, ultramodernistic. Lines, planes and surfaces
without ornamentation blended into a striking ensemble. It was as far from the classic as could be imagined. Then for color,
twenty-five hues and tints were employed
the full gamut of the spectrum."
The fair was so successful the first year
it was decided to continue it through the
summer of 1934. (The fair) holds a "remarkable record of financial success during the
greatest depression in history... It is estimated that the public spent within the
grounds, exclusive of admissions, about
$44000000."*
Companies having buildings of their own
were Sears-Roebuck, General Motors, Firestone and Chrysler.
*NEW STANDARD ENCYCLOPEDIA VOL 2,
Standard Education Society, 1947
1
QUILTERS JOURNAL #27
quilts, hung them for judging and forwarded
the best three quilts from each store to
regional semifinals in ten cities. Judges
then chose three finalists from each region, and these 20 quilts were shipped to
Chicago to be displayed in the Sears, Roebuck Building at the fair.
Most of the 25,000-odd quilts were copies
of traditional patterns, ones that had been
handed down since before the Revolutionary
War, with names such as the Star of Bethlehem, Delectable Mountains, Mariner's Compass and Grandmother's Flower Garden. The
patterns had been passed from mother to
daughter, from neighbor to neighbor,
throughout the history of this country.
There were times when quiltmaking was so
much in vogue that even the most fashionable lady had a quilt in a frame. At other
times only the poorest of farm wives continued their piecework to keep their families in bedding. As would be expected, the
Depression era was a time of renewed interest in the old art. It was a hobby wellsuited to the hard times of the 1930's,
since it used up the small scraps of cloth
no one could bear to throw away, and it
kept warm many families who could no longer
afford store-bought blankets.
Most of the quiltmakers in the '30s used
their grandmothers' designs, but they put
their own mark on their work with the fabrics of the times, soft pastel cottons and
splashy, multicolored prints. They pieced
their scraps together or splurged to buy
whole cloth for a background on which to
applique stylized floral designs... Although the product was functional, the
quilting process was to become a true art
form, limited in color and design only by
the imagination and skill of the creator.
Some quilters now looked upon the contest
as a chance to design their own patterns,
to exercise their creativity in a folk art
where tradition had often set the standard.
And the $200 bonus motivated some women to
spend their spring months designing and
completing quilts commemorating A Century
of Progress. Since the exposition celebrated both Chicago's past and the future
of mankind, there were several themes to
choose from. A nod to the past was important in a birthday celebration, but the
American of the 1930s believed progress lay
in looking to the future - and progress
meant technology.
This fascination with technology was summed up by the fair logo, which symbolized
the star Arcturus. A beam of light from
that star, 40 light-years away from Chicago, was bounced through a nationwide radio
relay to trigger the fair's lights on opening night. That ray of light had begun its
40-year journey in 1893, the year of Chicago's first world's fair. Arcturus, thus a
link between the two fairs, was depicted in
the Century of Progress logo as a kind of
comet, a sphere with a tail curling around
it in a dramatic flourish. And, of course,
the comet was appliqued on many of the commemorative quilts.
A few quiltmakers used their patchwork to
portray places or events in Chicago's history. Fort Dearborn's log parapets were a
popular subject, as were the orange flames
of the great Chicago fire. The fair's "Teepees to Temples" slogan inspired several
women to embroider the evolution of Chicago's architecture, culminating in representations of the fair buildings or of the
contemporary city skyline. The city of Chicago has its own logo, the "I Will" symbol,
a Y-shaped abstraction of the Chicago River
and its two branches. Several quiltmakers
worked the city symbol into their designs.
And the fair itself was commemorated in
some of the quilts. Louise Rowley of Chicago stitched an aerial view of the fairgrounds. Her entry and several others were
photographed at the fair and the pictures
were filed in Sears' archives, but the
names of most of the entrants are lost and
the present whereabouts of their quilts are
unknown.
Progress in technology was another common
theme in the quilts, with the development
of transportation from the stagecoach to
the dirigible, a popular concept. Mrs W B
Lathouse of Ohio pictured technology's progress as it applied to her life. Her quilt
featured a likeness of Franklin D Roosevelt
in the center, surrounded by portraits of
such appliances as a wringer washing machine, a table radio and a refrigerator
with the door open to display an abundance
of food.*
Linda & Clarence Rebenstorff of Wisconsin
collaborated on a commemorative quilt.
Clarence, an amateur artist, adapted magazine illustrations for Linda to applique in
cotton. The word "Progress" was emblazoned
between portraits of Edison and Lincoln,
the dates "1833-1933" between Lindberg and
Roosevelt. Although Linda had not quilted
the piece as finely as she had hoped by the
May 14 deadline, she did bind it and enter
it
- cont on pg 16
*Bishop, Rob't, NEW DISCOVERIES IN AMERICAN QUILTS, E P Dutton, NY 1975 pg 22,23.
2
COMMEMORATIVE QUILTS hung at the 1933
Sears Century of Progress Quilt Contest.
This was the largest quilt contest ever
held. Sears, Roebuck and Co, sponsors of
the contest claimed 25,000 entries were
submitted to Sears retail stores and mail
order houses. Top winners were sent on to
10 regional contests and the top three from
each region were sent to be judged and hung
in the Sears Building at the Chicago
World's Fair. According to SEARS CENTURY OF
PROGRESS IN QUILT MAKING about 5,000,000
persons visited the "quilt exposition".
Top left, a group of commemorative
quilts not identified; Top right, unknown;
Lower left, made by Louise Rowley, Chicago;
Lower right, unknown; Photos courtesy
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
3
STUDY CENTERS
HEARTLAND QUILT SYMPOSIUM
The Heartland Quilt Symposium held a very
successful Study Center May 2-5, 1985. 103
persons signed the register during the
three days the room was open and 19 filled
out questionnaires evaluating the room. To
the question if they would be willing to
pay a fee equivalent to taking a workshop
at a future symposium 8 said they would, 2
said they would not, 2 said "possibly"; 1
didn't know and 6 left blanks.
15 of the 19 found the area useful; 2
were just browsing; 1 did not and one left
a blank. 5 had no subject in mind for research and of the 12, 7 had to do with pattern, 1 with fabric dating and 1 wanted the
early QNMs.
Criticism included: needs included more
operating hours, more time for participants, bigger room, more light, overall index with references for each source, and
separate area for visiting and/or discussions.
Several commented that this kind of a
center should be available at every symposium and letters from several people with
similar comments have been received since
the conference.
Cuesta Benberry, Barbara Brackman and
Joyce Cross were available for consultation
or guidance. The material available included Issues 1-56 QNM; complete set of QUILTERS' JOURNAL; UNCOVERINGS 1980-83; QUILTER'S HALL OF FAME BOOKLETS 1979-84; Index
and selected articles LADIES HOME JOURNAL
1898-1980; out-of-print museum catalogs;
magazine and newspaper articles from a variety of sources; scrapbooks from Lenice Bacon, Lucille Hilty, Maxine Teele, Mary
Schafer, Bertha Stenge, Carrie Hall, Joyce
Aufderheide, Michael James, Jean Laury,
etc; excerpts from books (other than quilting) about quilts/ quilting; Letters from
Florence Peto to Emma Andres Vol I-IV; Diary of Myrtle Fortner; Greeting Card Collection with quilts; Quilt Wrapping Paper
Collection; Quilt Postcards Collection;
special research projects such as Hawaiian
Quilting, Afro-American Quilts/ Quilters,
Sears "Century of Progress" quilts, WOMAN'S
DAY, Stearns & Foster. There were approximately 50 binders and notebooks available
for browsing or studying. The majority was
from the Gross collection with additional
scrapbooks and binders on loan from Cuesta
Benberry and Barbara Brackman worked up for
their special areas of interest.
CUESTA BENBERRY
I believe that quilt study centers or
quilt resource centers are useful additions
to the agenda of quilt symposia, quilt conferences or seminars. Of course the study
center staff's first hope is that the visitors will be motivated to engage in quilt
history research.
Just by surveying the contents of the
center, one can learn the vast amount of
quilt information that cannot be found during a visit to one's local public library.
This can encourage truly quilt-interested
people to become collectors or archivists
themselves of quilt information. However,
there are less ambitious benefits that may
accrue. Under the guidance of the center
staff, one can learn how to find the name
of the pattern of an old family quilt, that
heretofore has been nameless. Or, possibly
find the true source of a long-held unidentified quilt article, now reduced to a torn
scrap of yellowed paper. But most of all, I
believe many persons who equate serious,
scholarly quilt research with pedantic
stuffiness are quickly disabused of that
notion. Instead, they will be caught up in
the excitement of discovery - the truth; a
confirmation or denial of their beliefs but always the truth; and that the endless
quilt information search must always be for
the truth.
Finally, the quilt study center is a marvelous forum of exchange. People will bring
to the study center information so rare, so
exciting as to set the whole place in a
state of happy turmoil! The study center is
unique as the one place that can properly
utilize such information. The center staff
can provide guidance to these persons so
that the end result will benefit all of the
quilt community with new knowledge.
CORRECTION...
In JOURNAL #19 the article on pages
8, 9 and 15 about the "Bird of Paradise Bride's Quilt Top" incorrectly
listed the date for the QUILT ENGAGEMENT CALENDAR as 1974. It should read
1975. Please correct your copy. See
pg 6 for an Update.
4
From your Editor
In this issue the JOURNAL departs from
our usual custom of featuring a person for
the cover and the main article. Articles
about the Sears Century of Progress Quilt
Contest kept coming to our attention so it
seemed logical to devote this issue to the
largest quilt contest held to date. We are
very grateful to Annette Amann, Emma Andres, Lenice Bacon, Barbara Brackman,
Cuesta Benberry, Phinneus and Lucille Kinnamon, Ethel Sharples, Lenore Swoiskin (Archivist for Sears, Roebuck) and World's
Fair magazine. And credit should also go to
the telephone company which allowed the information to flow freely from one part of
the country to another. Without the help of
all these and to the unsung heroines who
are at heart packrats, this issue would
never have been. This is really just a portion of the material on this event that we
now have and I hope it will motivate some
of you to be on the look out for additional
material. There is more out there. How do I
know that? Well just yesterday as I was
pasting the last page together, I was examining the sheet on pg 18 which was pasted
to a page from an old scrapbook page. I had
always presumed it to be from a Sears catalog, but Lenore Swoiskin said Sears had no
knowledge of it.
I had never bothered to peek on the other
side of the sheet but as I was completing
the Bibliography yesterday I was anxious to
see if there was a clue as to its origin.
Carefully, I picked up a corner and discovered that it was a pamphlet entitled "Sears
Century of Progress Quilt Contest." We had
no idea there was such a pamphlet. Of
course I had to phone Cuesta Benberry and
we both got excited about our brand new
piece of the puzzle. Do you have any
pieces? By the way, this new discovery
makes our bibliography on pg 20 outdated so
please update your copy.
And if you have other additions or corrections to our bibliography please let us
know.
I am pleased to announce the birth of my
new grandson, Brenden Elliott. He was so
eager to see all my quilts that he arrived
six weeks early requiring a rearrangement
of several schedules. Everyone is fine and
we hope it won't be too long before he and
his grandma can go on a picnic to roast
marshmellows. Of course he is very cute and
really very smart.
EDITOR/ PUBLISHER: Joyce Gross
CIRCULATION MGR: Florence Smith
Entire contents copyrighted © July 1985
We welcome unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. We reserve the
right to edit. Materials submitted must be accompanied by a self addressed stamped envelope.
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Table of Contents
Sears Catalog Reprint ...inside front cover
The Great Quilting Bee ................pg 1
Century of Progress ......................1
Study Center .............................4
Editorial ................................5
Contest Rules & Judges ...................6
Matthews Correspondence ..................7
Prize Winning Mystery ....................9
Century of Progress Pattern .............10
Sears Accused ...........................13
Quilters' Research Network ..............15
Emma Andres & Contest Entry .............17
Sears pamphlet ..........................18
Contest Bibliography ....................20
Classified ..............................20
Contest Winners (Sears Catalog reprint) .21
Winning Quilts photo ............back cover
On the Cover
On the cover: doc 28
EDITH MATTHEWS stands in front of her prize
winning quilt, "Spectrum". According to her
nephew, Phinneus Kinnamon in a letter dated
3-26-85, "Aunt Edith saw the advertisement from
Sears & decided to try her luck at entering.
She had made several quilts so had some knowledge of quiltmaking. She ordered the material
from Sears. She and Uncle Ralph collaborated on
the design - her idea and his drawing."
The pattern, loaned to us by her niece,
Ethel Kinnamon Sharples, was made on heavy
brown paper and is labeled 'Whirling Comet". Ed
note: See pg 7.
5
QUILTERS' JOURNAL #27
Two sides of a printed sheet presumed distributed by Sears, Roebuck and Co. The sheet
has been torn just below the "9". Barbara Brackman sent the picture of the back of Mrs
Louella Bitter's contest quilt. Sewn to it are the entry form and what appears to be
rules 9 & 10.
6
EDITH MATTHEWS CORRESPONDENCE
Mrs Ralph (Edith) Matthews was the 1st prize
winner for the 1933 L A Regional Sears Quilt
Contest with her quilt "Spectrum".* In 1955
she sent the quilt with the following letters
to her nephew, Phinneus Kinnaman and his wife,
Lucille. They are published with his permission.
Winnemuca, Nevada
May 9, 1933
Aug 7, 1934
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Los Angeles, Calif.
Gentlemen:
I am sending this quilt for entry in
your Century of Progress Quilt Contest.
It is an original design which I have
named "The Spectrum." For the top I used
your Pastoral Cloth and the cotton used
is China Cotton No. 96L2619. Your Pastoral Cloth is certainly wonderful cloth
to work with.
I have enjoyed makingthis quilt and hope
you will have another contest sometime.
Very truly yours,
Los Angeles, Calif
June 19, 1933
Mrs Ralph Matthews*
Dear Mrs Matthews:
We sincerely appreciate your willingness
to cooperate with us in the matter of a
display of the prize winning quilts at the
Fair again this year and are only waiting
to hear from ... the more distant winners
before going ahead with our plans.
.Of course, the display will depend
largely on what word we receive from
(them) as we could not make a sufficient
showing with just a few quilts. We are
very anxious to make this as impressive an
exhibit as possible and to that end would
like to have you send us your winnings
ribbons, too. Also if you care to sell
your quilts, please let us know the price
you wish for it and we will ticket it and
do everything we can to dispose of it for
you.
Again thanking you for your generosity
and assuring you every care will be taken
of your quilt while in our possession, I
am.
Cordially yours,
Sears, Roebuck and Co.,
(signed) Sue Roberts, ***
Hane Advisor
Mrs Ralph M Matthews,**
Dear Mrs Matthews:
I am indeed pleased to have the honor of
advising you by this letter that you are
the winner of the first prize, both for the
Los Angeles Region, and the Los Angeles
Mail Order House. Our checks for $200.00
and $10.00 are enclosed.
Nearly every quilt entered in this contest possessed such features of excellence
that it was extremely difficult for our
judges to select the best. Yet they were
all in entire agreement on the final awards
and their choices in all cases unquestionably best exemplify the skill, precision,
and artistic ability of the quilt maker.
I congratulate you upon your choice of
design and material and upon the painstaking workmanship displayed in your quilt.
I hope it will be possible for you to attend the Century of Progress Exposition
this summer. Your quilt is one of the
thirty on display in our building there.
Cordially yours,
(signed) F R Henniger
General Manager
* Ethel Sharpless, Mrs Matthews' niece,
loaned us the original pattern from which
the quilt was made in the original paper
bag with Mrs Matthews' handwritten notes
on it., "Pattern for my Sears, Roebuck
quilt, 'Whirling comets"; "It went to the
world's Fair both summers 1933 & 1934"
"Got $210. First Prize in 7 western
states."
** All letters from Sears used the same
address.
*** Sue Roberts was one of the judges for
the contest.
7
QUILTERS' JOURNAL #27
Los Angeles, Calif.
June 19
151x12-1
Mr Rollin C Stitser
Editor and Publisher
Humboldt Star and Silver State
Winnemucca, Nevada
November 20 1934
Mrs Ralph M Matthews
Dear Mrs. Matthews:
We cannot begin to express our gratitude for
the splendid way you came to our assistance and
so willingly cooperated in making our second
quilt display a success by lending us your beautiful prize winning quilt. Without a doubt, the
exhibit was one of the most sought out spots in
our entire building and ranked with the other
outstanding attractions at the Fair.
Within a few days you will receive a small token of this appreciation. * It goes to you with
our thanks and sincerest good wishes. We hope
that it will serve as a pleasant reminder of a
very happy association. Your quilt has already
been returned by insured parcel post and should
have reached you by this time.
Again thanking you for responding so generously to our call and with kindest personal regards, we are
Cordially yours
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
(signed) Sue Roberts
Home Advisor
Dear Mr Stitser:
Mrs Ralph Matthew of your city has been
awarded the first prize of $200 in the Los Angeles division of Sears, Roebuck and Co.'s official Century of Progress Quilt Contest. We deem
this a real honor for Winnemucca as approximately 1,000 quilts were entered in the Los Angeles division of the nationwide contest and Mrs
Matthew's quilt is now on exhibition with the 29
other regional winners in the Sears building of
A Century of Progress in Chicago.
We are enclosing a not of Mrs Matthews’ prize
quilt entry and a story telling of her success
in the contest, which we turn
over to you for whatever use you see fit to make
of it...
Yours very truly
signed) F.R. Henninger
General Managers
SEARS, ROEBUCK and CO.
Los Angeles
* This penciled notation by Mrs Matthews
indicates the "small token" was
August 21, 1934
Mrs Ralph Matthews*
Dear Mrs Matthews:
I just want you to know that your guilt has
arrived safely and been despatched to our building at the Fair.
The exhibit is taking shape rapidly and we are
looking forward to its being one of the centers
of attraction. It is just too bad that we did
not realize earlier how great the demand would
be for quilts so that the millions of visitors
who have come and gone could have had the pleasure of viewing them. However, there will be millions more and they will be as grateful as we
are to you for your generous cooperation in making the display possible...
If we have any inquiries about your quilt, we
will gladly refer them to you, but will attach
no "for sale" card. I do not know what success
we will have in disposing of the ones that are
for sale, but we are glad to do what we can to
help our friends in this direction to the full
extent of our ability.
Cordially yours
(signed) Sue Roberts
Home Advisor
(Newspaper article, no date or source)
Phinneas Morrow has received a letter from his
sister, Mrs Edith Matthews of Winnemuca, Nov.
notifying him that a quilt which she designed
and pieced was one of 29 quilts in display at
the World's Fair in Chicago, and which may be
seen in the Sears Roebuck building. This quilt
took first prize in the Los Angeles division,
winning over more than 1,000 other quilts. The
division prize awarded to Mrs Matthews was $210.
She describes it as gay and easy to find in its
place of display. Her husband gave her the idea
of using the colors of the spectrum and she designed the pattern from that idea. It required
two months to piece and complete the quilt.
8
PRIZE-WINNING MYSTERY
by Barbara Brackman
"Ship's Wheel". Miss Caden apparently did
not give the quilt a name when she entered
it; initial stories about the prizewinner
called it "Unknown Star". Later, other
names such as "Star of the Century" have
been given to the design. The best-known
name is "Star of the Bluegrass" under which
Stearns and Foster has been selling the
pattern since 1948. No color photos have
been found of the quilt but the Stearns and
Foster pattern describes it as shades of
plain green with a matching print that included touches of red. In the plain green
areas between the stars and in the border
were stuffed-work leaves surrounded by a
grid filler pattern in the quilting.
Looking at photos of the quilt today we
can imagine why the four judges (GOOD
HOUSEKEEPING needlework editor Anne Orr,
quilt shop owner Mary McElwain, Beth
Burnett of the Art Institute of Chicago and
Sue Roberts of Sears) selected Miss Caden's
entry above the 29 other finalists. Although the judge's scorecard indicated that
quilting was to be only 25% of the total
points, the stuffed work was undoubtedly
eye catching and contributed significantly
to the quilt's success.
Those who recall seeing the quilt on display remark today on the quilting. Marie
Mueller of Garnaville, Iowa wrote in a letter "The first prize quilt ... was quilted
16 stitches to an inch which was outstanding." CAPPER'S WEEKLY pictured the prizewinner in 1933 and said, "It was really the
remarkable padded quilting which made this
quilt so exquisite."
The quilt, especially its stuffed work,
was extraordinary. The story that it was
made by one woman and entered by another
seems extraordinary also, but after looking
at the quilt in the context of the times
-the years of the Depression and the days
when women's work was accorded little respect-- we can better understand the circumstances.* *
Presumably Margaret Rogers Caden signed
an entry form that said, "I certify that
this quilt is entirely of my own making" as
did every other entrant, many of whom had
undoubtedly hired the quilting done on
their own pieces. Margaret Caden and her
In 1984, on a trip to Lexington, Kentucky,
Barbara Brackman interviewed Helen Black,
Mattie Black's daughter-in law, who inherited Mrs Black's quilt memorabilia,
In 1933 Sears, Roebuck & Co. sponsored a
quilt contest that turned out to be the
largest ever held. "A Century of Progress
in Quiltmaking" was part of the Chicago
World's Fair celebration with prizewinners
displayed at the Sears Exhibit Hall there.
Nearly 25,000 quiltmakers responded to
Sear's call for quilts, many inspired to
enter by the promise of a first prize of
$1000, a significant amount during the Depression years when a teacher's salary was
$80 per month.
The contest coincided with the peak of a
quiltmaking craze; it seemed everyone was
making Grandmother's Flower Gardens and
Double Wedding Ring quilts, and several
quiltmakers were going far beyond the fad
quilts, making true masterpieces. A comparison with the 1977 GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
quilt contest illustrates the size of the
earlier Sears contest. Although quiltmaking
was in vogue again in 1977, only 9954 entered the GOOD HOUSEKEEPING competition
which was won by Virginian Jinny Beyer. The
current craze appears pale in comparison
with quiltmaking in the Depression era.
The 25,000 quilts were judged at local
Sears stores and mail order houses with
semi-finalists displayed at ten big city
stores around the country in May 1933.
Thirty finalists were sent to Chicago and
one was chosen the country's top quilt,
winner of the cash prize, to be hung in a
place of honor at the Fair and to go home
with new First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Margaret Rogers Caden of Lexington, Kentucky was awarded the coveted first prize
and the acclaim as best quiltmaker of the
era, but it may be that she herself did not
put a stitch in that prize-winning quilt.
Now, more than fifty years later, stories
about the first prize quilt and its true
maker are still told in Lexington. The evidence against Miss Caden in primarily word
of mouth and a few small scraps of sample
quilting.
The first-prize quilt itself cannot help
solve the mystery since there has been no
record of it since 1934. It was made from a
traditional pattern called "Harvest Sun" or
cont on pg 12
**Ed note: It was not unusual to pay professional quilters to finish a quilt. Many of
our best known quilts, such as those attributed
to Bertha Stenge, Rose Kretsinger and Charlotte
Whitehill were quilted by anonymous professional quilters.
Finley, Ruth, OLD PATCHWORK QUILTS AND THE
WOMEN WHO MADE THEM, J B Lippincott Philadelphia 1929 P1 42, pg 99,100, 133
9
QUILTERS' JOURNAL #27
cont from pg 9 three sisters owned a needlecraft shop in Lexington where they sold
crafts such as smocked clothing and quilts.
Mattie Clark Black was one of the Lexington
women who sold their work to the Caden sisters, and the Black family believes that
Mattie was the true, unheralded winner of
the 1933 contest.
During the Depression Mattie Black was
supporting her family with her fine sewing,
grateful for the chance to work, recalls
her daughter-in-law, Helen Black. Mattie
Black had put daughter Mildred through
nursing school with her earnings from handmade items such as quilt tops, children's
dresses and drapes.
Mattie Black had learned to sew from her
mother Emma Jones Clark, a Mississippian
who defied her family by marrying a Union
Army Captain and moving to Richmond, Kentucky. Mattie was one of three daughters,
each quite independent and each capable of
earning her own way. In 1908 Mattie married
James Black, nephew of a Kentucky governor.
The Blacks moved to Lexington in the 1920's
buying a lovely old house at 2nd & Broadway. But by 1933 it was a struggle to hold
on to the house and to give the two children an education. Mattie Black's handwork
was the family income during those hard
times. She died in 1963 at the age of 77
and is remembered in Lexington today as an
exquisite seamstress.
Her family recalls her telling the story
of the 1933 quilt and laughing. She was a
self-effacing woman; she did not enter contests and had no need to take the credit
for the Century of Progress prizewinner.
Today, Helen Black, daughter-in-law, James
II's wife, tells the family stories about
Mattie Black. No one actually remembers her
making the "Star of the Bluegrass" quilt
top. It may have been one of the many tops
she made at the time; most were sold to the
Cadens who arranged for the quilting by
women in the country and then sold the finished quilts in their shop. Helen Black has
inherited her mother-in- law's patterns, unfinished tops, work samples and family
quilts. In those she found scraps of green
cotton with stuffed work samples, apparently Mattie Black's "sketches" for the leaves
she quilted and stuffed in the border of
the "Star of the Bluegrass" quilt.
One sample looks identical to the border
design in photos of the quilt; the samples
are green cotton stitched to a white backing. There is no batting between the top
and back; thus the stitches around the
leaves are quite small. The leaves are
stuffed from the back. In the finished
quilt a batt and another lining would have
been added. It would have been quilted after the stuffed work was completed.
Helen Black recalls her mother-in-law doing some stuffed work on a hat and purse
she made for her granddaughter, but recalls
no other quilts with the extra embellishment. The only evidence of Mattie Black's
expertise in stuffed work is in the scraps.
Since the scraps are solid green it is difficult to match the fabric with the photos
of the quilt, and no evidence that they are
preliminary sketches for the quilt aside
from the similarity in leaf designs.
Mattie Black left no patterns for a
"Star" quilt like the "Star of the Century", but in the collection of old quilts
the family inherited from her is a quilt in
that Harvest Sun design, made by an unknown
quiltmaker around the turn of the century.
This utility quilt has not the precision of
Mattie Black's later work and the family
doubts she made it.
They do not recall her quilting any of
her quilts. They believe she hired out the
quilting on the few finished pieces they
have inherited. There were no quilting patterns, frames or other paraphernalia in the
materials Mattie Black left.
The puzzle grows more complex; If Margaret Caden indeed entered a quilt that was
pieced and stuffed by Mattie Black was it
quilted by a second unidentified woman?
Tracking down that quilter is a formidable
job; the Cadens apparently had an agent who
hired mountain women to quilt. The agent
kept the names to herself and it is possible that the Cadens themselves did not know
who quilted any of their quilts. In this
case, the quilting was a simple grid, secondary to the intricate stuffed work Mattie
Black had included, so even though the
quilter deserves credit, it is probable
that Mattie Clark Black was the true winner
of the contest with her stuffed-work
leaves.
Because "The Star of the Bluegrass" is
lost, there is no way to compare the workmanship and fabric in the stuffed work samples with the actual winner. The quilt was
given to Eleanor Roosevelt after the Fair's
second year in 1934. She was free to do
anything with it she liked, as there were
no laws at that time governing presidential
gifts. The quilt is not in the White House,
not the Roosevelt homes or library in Hyde
Park, New York. It is possible that
cont on pg 19
12
SEARS ACCUSED OF UNFAIR JUDGING
afternoon and got my quilt-the gray and
blue-and did not neglect to tell Miss Wilford just how I felt and that I knew a number of the other exhibitors felt the same
and that was that the C of P quilts did not
have a fair judging. She said she had had
not more than four complaints and many many
delightful letters from others assuring her
that they were much pleased and what a wonderful success it had been, and so on. I
wondered if I am so unreasonable and unconsiderate as she tried to make me feel, but
fail to realize that she was telling the
whole truth or that we did not have a complaint coming. I still think there is room
for investigation and seriously doubt that
the full amount was paid out in prizes. How
do you feel about it all?
I told Miss Wilford I did not think that
Mrs Roosevelt is on Charity or that she
will appreciate the selection of the judges
especially if she could have seen what they
had to choose from. Of course she said she
had no control over them.
Hoping I may some time have the pleasure
of meeting or talking with you again, I am
Sincerely
Ida M Stow
The following is copied from a carbon copy of
a letter in Lenice Bacon's scrapbook. Presumably the "PS" is addressed to her.
163 West Washington St
Chicago
June 6th 1933
Sears & Roebuck,
State & Van Buren Sts
Chicago,
Gentlemen:
So many complaints from quilt exhibitors
and the public in general have come because
of the understanding that the Century of
Progress quilts- i.e. the quilts of unusual
designs or other than colonial or patchworks- are not being fairly and impartially
judged but are being given only "Honorable
Mention" that I am writing to ask that the
entire collection of these designs be put
in the final collection of awards to be
judged by the judges named in your circular. (Ed note: See pg 18 for announcement.)
Your printed instructions were very explicit and I as well as others tried to
live up to these instructions in all details. Now I understand that the Century of
Progress quilts or those featuring the progress of the last century are not being
considered or given recognition over colonial designs, except that some are tagged
"Honorable Mention." One of the judges having been heard to state she would not give
three minutes of her time to consider a
Century of Progress design. I also notice
that very few of the judges listed in your
pamphlet are taking any part in this...
judging.
Many of we exhibitors spent considerable
time, thought and energy not to speak of
the money, in our efforts to produce something worthwhile along the lines called for
by your company, to produce "an unusual design to depict and commemorate the Century
of Progress" and it is not with justice to
us or your reputation to have the matter
handled in this manner.
Will you kindly give this your consideration and see if this quilt contest can be
handled with fairness and along the lines
originally laid down by you.
In the interest of the quilt exhibitors,
I am
Yours truly,
cont from pg 17
able to select the winners (sic) for nearly
every quilt submitted had some features
that made it outstanding.
Some were notable for the beauty of design, some for the thousands of tiny, even
stitches in the quilting, some for the artistic blending of colors, and some for the
happy choice of materials. Many of the entries were from women with years of experience in quilt making. Our difficult task
was the selection of those quilts which
most perfectly displayed all of these features of excellence.
I hope you will find it possible to visit
the Century of Progress Exposition at Chicago this summer and see the quilts which
were awarded the first thirty prizes. They
will be on display in our building there.
The quilt you submitted has been well
cared for and is now being returned to you
in perfect condition by insured parcel
post.
Cordially yours,
P S I just came across this envelope addressed to you which I neglected to mail to
you as I had intended. I went over this
(Signed)
13
SEARS, ROEBUCK AND CO.
Sue Roberts
Home Advisor
QUILTERS' JOURNAL #27
STATE HISTORICAL QUILT PROJECTS
TEXAS SESQUICENTENNIAL QUILT
ASSOCIATION
Contact: Nancy Reddick
TSQA
19885 Katy Freeway
Suite 968
Houston, TX 77079
MISSOURI HERITAGE QUILT PROJECT
contact: Bettina Havig, Project Director
1108 Sunset Lane
Columbia, MO 65201
314/449-1602
The Missouri Project under the sponsorship of Silver Dollar City culminated the
year's search and documentation of quilts
with a spectacular exhibit of 40 quilts on
May 4 in Silver Dollar City.
The exhibit will travel.
Schedule
Aug 3-18: Kansas City, Missouri
Crown Center-Exhibition Hall
Aug 30-Sept 8: St Genevieve, Missouri
Old School Museum
The exhibition catalog will be available
Aug 15, 1985. Contact Ms Havig.
Texas Sesquicentennial Quilt Assoc was
founded by Karey Bresenhan, Nancy Puentes
and Suzanne Yabsley to spotlight women and
their role in the history of Texas through
their quilts for the Sesquicentennial year
of 1986. Ms Bresenhan and Ms Puentes have
toured the state during 27 locally sponsored Quilt Days to photograph and document
over 3500 quilts. Other Quilt Days have
been held by women in LaPryor, Del Rio and
Abilene in conjunction with this project.
Jonathon Holstein, Julie Silber and Cecilia
Steinfeldt, well known quilt authorities,
selected the 25 quilts for the exhibit,
"Lone Stars: A Legacy of Texas Quilts 18361936." The quilts, all made in Texas prior
to 1936, will tour Texas museums during
1986-87. The exhibit will open in Austin
with a special larger exhibit of 75 quilts
for a Quilt Appreciation Week.
* * * * * * * *
QUILT PROJECT IN NORTH CAROLINA
For information on the development of the
quilt project in North Carolina write Ruth
Roberson, 3406 Ogburn Ct, Durham N C 27705
it "Quilt of the Century". A book QUILTING
by Alice Beyer,*... displayed this quilt
also.
In the late 1940's, this same quilt pattern was again issued by Mountain Mist. It
was called "Star of the Bluegrass", perhaps
in reference to Margaret Roger's Caden's
home state of Kentucky.
Here we have in very vivid form a prime
example of the name changes for a quilt
pattern. From "Unknown Star" to "Feathered
Star" to "Quilt of the Century" to "Star of
the Bluegrass" with perhaps a few other
names in between, this pattern has acquired
lasting fame. For this quilt as "Star of
the Bluegrass" continued its winning ways.
In 1952, it again won a $1000 Grand Prize
for the five women of the Middlebury Grange
#139, New Haven Conn who made it for a National Quilt Contest. This quilt, too, was
presented to the wife of the then President, Mrs Harry Truman. This then is the
saga of one quilt pattern.
THE SAGA OF ONE QUILT PATTERN
by Cuesta Benberry
Cuesta Benberry is no stranger to our readers
either as an author or a feature story. (JOURNAL #23) This article was originally published
in NIMBLE NEEDLE TREASURES, Fall '73 and is
published with permission of Mrs Benberry.
Sears, Roebuck and Co in 1934 issued a
quilt pattern booklet of the prize-winning
quilts in the contest. The booklet was
SEARS CENTURY OF PROGRESS IN QUILT MAKING.
The prize winning quilt was offered in both
kit form and perforated pattern form. It
was renamed "Feathered Star" in this publication.
The prize winning quilt received reams of
publicity during this time. Pictures and
articles about it appeared in many newspapers and periodicals throughout the country.
Other pattern sources featured it too. Capper's showed it in May 1934, and called
* See Bibliography pg 20
14
QUILTERS' RESEARCH NETWORK
Barbara Brackman and Joyce Gross have been
developing a cross reference of quilt researchers and their topics. So often we
could be helpful to each other if we were
aware of who is working on which project.
The Network hopes to foster communication.
If you are interested, send $5.00 to Darlene Roberts, 156 S Gladstone, Aurora, IL
60506. Include your name, address and phone
number with a short summary of your specific interests in the field of quilt history. You will receive an index plus periodic updates.
by Nancilu B Burdick
On Apr 9, 1985, a lively group of researchers met in network session at Hunter
Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN. The meeting
preceded the 12th Southern Quilt Symposium
Laurel Horton led the discussion of a
wide variety of on-going projects. Participants research range all the way from a
single, appliqued, Memphis "story" quilt,
to the compilation of quilt history for the
whole state; from the authentic duplication
of one significant old Kentucky quilt, to
the documentation of more than 100 quilts
made by one Alabama woman.
After each person discussed her interests
and research in progress, the primary focus
was on the process of research, how to sort
out fact from fiction, search out and approach quilt owners, and compile authentic
records. As an example, Laurel showed her
remarkable research notebook, kept while
researching and collecting quilts for the
exhibition "Social Fabrics: South Carolina's traditional Quilts" at the McKissick
Museum, Univ of No. Carolina. Ms Horton was
guest curator for this exhibition and worked with support from many groups and funding from several sources.
No less significant was Bets Ramsey's
discussion of the Tennessee State Project
she and others are working on, with no
funding. The importance of proceeding with
such research, despite lack of funding was
emphasized. For only so much funding can be
forthcoming and states eventually recognize
the vital importance of quilts and quilt
makers in their state's history.
Many publications (UNCOVERINGS, 1980-83,
KANSAS CITY STAR PATTERNS, QUILTERS' JOURNAL etc) were displayed as examples of the
end result of authentic research. Before
the meeting adjourned, interest was expressed by several for the need to meet
more frequently for sharing and mutual support. Some felt an eastern chapter of the
American Quilt Study Group would be helpful.
by Barbara Brackman
The meeting was held in the Study Center
at 8 am on May 4, 1985 during the Heartland
Quilt Symposium. The purposes of the network were discussed (see below).
The guide to museum collections being coordinated by Mary Cross was discussed and
new people encouraged to do their own area.
Those interested should write to Mary to
received guidelines.
Study centers at symposia were discussed
with researchers encouraged to make their
wants and needs in this area known to symposium organizers.
Ways those interested in antique quilts
can influence organizations to document,
preserve and display antique quilts were
mentioned including the suggestion to write
in guest books of small museums, "I would
like to see more quilts."
Those attending talked of their particular interest in old quilts.
The meeting closed with discussion of the
value of quilting old tops and the lament
that there are few guidelines for how to do
it. There appeared to be a consensus on a
need for more discussion as to whether it
should be done and if it should be done under what conditions and how it should be
done.
Ed note: Most museums and historical societies believe that objects should remain in
the state they are received and that nothing should be done to the object that cannot be undone. There is much to be learned
from studying an unfinished quilt top which
cannot be seen as a whole quilt; e.g., type
of thread used, length of stitches, how the
seams are treated, etc. It was suggested
that if one is determined to quilt an old
top it should be treated in the manner of
an old quilt as to quilting pattern and
type of material used for the back and
binding. It was also pointed out that sometimes the new thread cuts the fabric when
quilting.
The JOURNAL would welcome your comments
about this subject.
15
QUILTERS' JOURNAL #27
– cont from pg 2
50 years ago. They have been carefully
folded and stored, away from the washing
machines that destroyed many quilts of the
era. Several of the makers who are still
living have proudly passed on to their
children and grandchildren the story of
their world's fair quilts. Some of the stories have grown into legends - typically
about "the quilt Grandma won first prize
with at the Chicago World's Fair." Some
families have let the quilt go; they occasionally turn up in antique shops. And surely there are one or two out there, folded
away without a story,, known only as
"Auntie's strange quilt - the one with the
comets."
in the contest. She knew she would not win
a prize and attributes the failure to her
unfinished quilting. But nearly every maker
of a commemorative quilt was similarly disappointed. Nearly all of the 30 finalist
were of a more traditional pattern, perfectly pieced, expertly appliqued and handquilted as small as 16 to the inch.
First prize went to an old-fashioned star
pattern entered by Margaret Rogers Caden of
Lexington, Kentucky.* Fair visitors still
recall the fineness of the quilting on the
grand-prize winner, which was presented to
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt after the 1934
fair season.
Fifty years later the quilt's location is
a mystery; it is neither in the White House
nor at the Roosevelt Library and home in
Hyde Park. Was it worn out by Roosevelt
grandchildren? Was it given away as a White
House souvenir? Is the best quilt of 1933
stored somewhere, or simply lost?
The judges seemed to value expert stitching above color, design and patchwork technique. Creativity appears to have rated low
on their scale. A letter written by contest
entrant Ida M Stow in June 1933 takes Sears
to task for the judges' taste.** She felt
they were biased against the commemorative
quilts of unique design, and wrote that one
judge had been overheard to state that "she
would not give three minutes of her time to
a Century of Progress design." Perhaps,
Sears formulated the contest rules and then
hired four judges with opinions that differed from those of the Sears copywriters.
The judges favored traditional patterns,
and the $200 bonus for the Century of Progress quilt was never awarded.
Most of the commemorative quilts were returned quickly to their owners with no
prizes or ribbons, but several were displayed at the fair with honorable mention
citations. After the fair closed, all the
quilts went back to their makers, except
for the first prize winner. We have found
no complete list of the quilts entered in
the world's fair, no record of the themes
of the commemorative quilts or of how many
there were. The present whereabouts of 18
are known; one was destroyed in a fire that
killed its maker in 1982; 16 were recorded
at the fair but later lost.
Many of the surviving commemorative
quilts are in virtually the same condition
as when they were removed from their frames
cont from pg 8
On Dec 29, 1955 Edith Matthews sent the
quilt with a hand-written note to Phinneas &
Lucille Kinnamon from Pine Bluffs, Wyoing
ng.
Dear Lucille and Phin
At last I have that quilt wrapped up. It
took me all forenoon to find a box big
enough and paper to wrap it.
It has never been washed. I know I should
have washed it but I never think of it until I am looking for something in the cedar
chest. Do not wash it in hot water, altho I
think it will wash nicely and fluff up. In
your washer and dryer it won't be much of a
job. Probably you could do it easier than
I, as mine is a common washer. Take the
ribbon off before washing.
I am sending you some letters about the
quilt that you might like to see. If there
are any of them you would like to keep with
the quilt, feel free to do so, and return
any not wanted.
I couldn't find an envelope large enough
for the letters so I made one. Not supposed
to put any writing inside a package.
...We have a patch of snow "here and there"
but it wasn't really a white Christmas. The
roads are good and Mildred and I take our
rides yet. On Saturday I took her ... (on)
our favorite drive or route...
I have been fine this winter, not even a
cold yet.
I wanted you to have the quilt before
anything did happen to me...
With love
(signed) Aunt Edith
* See pg 9 for another story
** See pg 13 for Stow letter
16
EMMA ANDRES & HER QUILT CONTEST ENTRY
Emma Andres was one of the thousands that entered the Sears contest (See JOURNAL Sum
81) Though she didn't win a prize she carefully kept her green "merit" ribbon. Barbara
Brackman found in interviewing some 40 of the contestants that each had received such a
ribbon. The letters from Sears add to the contest file.
There is no location noted on Miss Andres' receipt for her quilt but we are probably
safe in assuming that it was entered in the Los Angeles region because the third prize
winner in that region was also from Prescott. (See pg 21) We have no evidence whether
the two were acquainted.
Los Angeles
May 18 – *
handwritten date 1934*
Dear Madam,
On behalf of the judges of the Sears,
Roebuck and Co Quilting Contest, I wish to
extend to you our sincere thanks for the
entry you submitted and to take this opportunity to announce the prize (sic) awards
that have been made. A list of the winners
is enclosed.* The enclosure was what appears to be an original typewritten list.
Please do not feel discouraged over the
fact that your entry did not receive a
prize, for the quilt you submitted is truly
beautiful, and in a less inclusive group,
it would have undoubtedly won an award.
It was only after the most careful process of elimination that the judges were
Emma Andres
125 N Cortez St
Prescott, Ariz
Dear Madam,
Your quilt is acknowledged and is being
carefully protected.
The quilt will be submitted to the
judges in accordance with the rules of the
contest.
We take this opportunity to thank you
for your interest in this contest.
Yours truly,
Sears, Roebuck and Co.
(signed) Sue Roberts
Personal Service Dept
cont on pg 13
* Among Miss Andres' memorabilia is a typewritten list of National and Los Angeles Regional winners.
* Ed note: "1932" is handwritten. Since the
contest was not announced until 1933, we must
assume the date to be 1933.
17
QUILTERS' JOURNAL #27
From the inside of a pamphlet entitled Sears Century of Progress Quilt
Contest". No date. Gross collection.
18
On the Book Shelf
HOMAGE TO AMANDA, TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF AMERICAN QUILTS by Edwin Binney III and his daughter,
Gail Binney Winslow. 96 pgs. RK Press, Dept 22, 955 Fourteenth St S F CA 94114, $16.95 + $1.50
Note: It is also a SITES traveling exhibit of quilts from the authors' collection.
Reviewed by Bets Ramsey
HOMAGE TO AMANDA is a guide to the collection (and exhibition) and contains a
lively text highlighting the quiltmakers
and changing aspects of the art. Published
by Michael Kile, the co-founder of THE
QUILT DIGEST, the book had the same high
quality format and photography of the DIGEST series.
The book gives not only a selective overview of American quiltmaking, but allows
the reader to experience the growth of a
collection formed by historical study and
personal taste. One senses the commitment
to the best artistic standards and refinement of choice. There is a graciousness,
too, in the collectors sharing their acquisitions so willingly with other quilt
lovers through their exhibition and book.
This fine volume deserves to be placed on
the shelf with your best art books.
Reviewed by Joyce Gross
The choice of quilts, the photography and
excellent printing (even the quilting is
clearly visible) make this an important
book, but I was even more impressed with
the text. It includes not only a description of the quilt (plus a full color photograph) but adds some bit of background information which helps the reader have a
better understanding of that quilt and adds
to her general knowledge of quiltmaking
history.
For example, the text with the "Pineapple" quilt on pg 47, reads, "It is said
that American sea captains, returning from
the tropics, brought back exotic fruits,
among them pineapples. They impaled them on
their gate and fence posts to herald their
return from the sea. Whether this is folklore or fact, the pineapple has served as a
symbol of hospitality and goodwill in Western culture for centuries. America's leading cabinetmakers utilized the pineapple as
finial and bas-relief decorations, and needleworkers incorporated the motif into
their creations."
This article was originally published in
the CHATTANOOGA TIMES, Jan 24 1985 and is
printed with permission.
SCHEDULE FOR “AMANDA" Aug 24-Oct 6 '85 Midland Art Council, Midland, Michigan
Oct 26-Dec 8 '85 Allentown Art Museum, Allentown, Pennsylvania
Dec 28-Apr 13 '86 Museum of Folk Art, Santa Fe, New Mexico
cont from pg 12
Mrs Roosevelt gave it as a gift since it
has been documented that she gave another
quilt to a servant as a remembrance of the
White House years and there are stories
about her giving other souvenirs to friends
and employees.
The pattern for the prize-winning quilt
was reproduced in many publications and
sold by several pattern companies. Since
the piecing design was a traditional pattern going back to the early nineteenth
century there were no copyright restrictions on it. Stearns and Foster apparently
bought the rights to reproduce the quilt
exactly and use Miss Caden's name. They
have sold the pattern for decades as the
"Star of the Bluegrass" and credit it as an
original design by Margaret Rogers Caden.
The pattern copyrighted 1948, includes the
same stuffed work (or "tra- punta" as they
call it) seen in the photos of the quilt
and in Mattie Black's border samples.
Helen Black has recently had some of Mattie Black's tops quilted. Two finished by
Carol Ann White are pictured in LADIES CIRCLE PATCHWORK QUILTS, Spring, 1983, with a
cryptic caption about the World's Fair contest mystery.
Margaret Caden and her sisters died many
years ago. She left no children to give her
version of the World's Fair winner story.
Until more evidence surfaces--we can hope
the quilt will someday be found--the story
is still a mystery, but the rumors in Lexington that Mattie Clark Black (who received none of the cash and none of the credit)
was the country's top quiltmaker in 1933
seem to have the ring of truth about them.
For a photo of Margaret Rogers Caden
and the guilt that won the Grand National Prize see page 21.
19
QUILTERS' JOURNAL #27
WORLD'S FAIR BIBLIOGRAPHY
Compiled by Joyce Gross July 1985
Nancy Cabot, see: CHICAGO TRIBUNE
AMER PICTORIAL QLTS, Vassar College Art Gallery '75
NEW YORK TIMES, Rita Reif, "Antiques" May '76
Aunt Martha's Studios, THE QLT FAIR COMES TO YOU,
Kansas City, Missouri, 1934
NIMBLE NEEDLE TREASURES,
Fall '71 Excerpt from "Qlting" Alice Beyers
Fall'73 "The Saga of One Qlt Patt" Cuesta
Benberry, pg 15, 16 & 17
Beyer, Alice, QLTING Chicago South Park Cam. Leisure
Hobby Series 1934
THE QLT FAIR COMES TO YOU, Aunt Martha Studios, Kansas City, Missouri, @ 1934
Bishop, Robert, NEW DISCOVERIES IN AMER QLPS, E P
Dutton & Co, Inc 1975 pg 122,123.
QUILTERS' JOURNAL,
Sum '81, "ETa Andres" by Joyce Gross
#24, Cover "Mary E McElwain"
CAPPER'S WEEKLY,
Apr 27' 7l "Quilt of Century won Blue Ribbon".
n d "'Star' Quilt from Century of Progress" Jun 13
'72 'Quilt of Century is $1008. winner"
QUILTERS' NEWSLETTER MAGAZINE, 46:24-25; 134: 1825;
135:40,43; 136:18; 137:21,46; 141:29; 156: 22-24,30.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE,
Oct 22 '33 "Century of Progress" article
& pattern
n.d.* "Quilts Depict Progress"
May 7 '33 Nancy Cabot Qlt column "World's Fair"
Oct 22'33 Nancy Cabot Qlt column
Jul 21'34 "Century of Progress"
THE ROYAL NEIGHBOR, Ad for "The Biggest 25 cents
You've ever Had" Aunt Martha's Studios.
SEARS CENT OF PROG, Sears, Roebuck & Co. 1934.
SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO. CATALOGS, 1933 & 1934
Corr. from Sears, Roebuck and Co.
to Emma Andres 1933
to Edith Matthews 1933, 1934
SEARS TODAY "In Quest of Sears" July 9, '82.
200 YEARS OF AMER QLTS IN ILLINOIS PRIVATE COLLECTIONS, Center for the Visual Arts Gallery, Illinois
State University, Normal, Illinois 1976.
Corr. from Ida M Stow to Sears, Roebuck and Co. June
6, 1933
n.d.*/n.s.**
Newspaper article "Qlts to Chicago Contest"
Announcement of Kansas Regional Winners.
FARM JOURNAL, "Century of Progress" patt n d
Foote, Louise Fowler KATE'S BLUE RIBBON QLTS Capper's
Weekly, '71.
Newspaper article "642 years into Qlts" quotes Kansas
City Sears, Roebuck & Co mail order branch manager.
Gammell, Alice I, POLLY PRINDLE'S BOOK OF AMER PATCHWORK, Grosset & Dunlap, N Y 1973.
Newspaper photo of identifiable Cent of Progress qlts
with caption, "Qlts suggest coolness in summer exhibitions."
Johnson, Orinne & Eleanor Lewis, THE FARMER'S WIFE
BOOK OF NEW DESIGNS & PATTERNS, St. Paul, Minn @ 1934
Newspaper article "History in a Quilt" re Oklahoma
History Quilt.
McCALL'S NEEDLEWORK,
Win '48-49 Ad for Mountain Mist pattern
"Star of the Bluegrass".
Sum '49 Ad for Mountain Mist
"Make smoother, lovelier quilts" with
photo of "Star of the Bluegrass" pg 41
Spr/Sum '53 "Star of the Bluegrass"
*no date **no source
Classified
Please mention the JOURNAL when placing an order. Advertising rates: 25 cents per word, prepaid.
FOR SALE: "Quilts in America" by Orlofsky. Mint condition. Out-of-print. Autographed. Box 270, Mill Valley, CA 94942 or phone 415/388-7578
IN THE HEART OF PENNSYLVANIA: 19th & 20th Century
Quiltmaking Traditions by Jeannette Lasansky. $15.95
+ $2.00 mailing to Oral Traditions, Court House,
Lewisburg, PA 17827.
WANTED: Mt Mist patterns with quilt patches in
color on the outside. "I", "U", “V", "W", "33",
"103", "105", “108”, "109”, "110", “114". “115”.
“118”, "122”, “125”, "l26", "128", "129", (Croton) &
(Penn Dutch), "130", (Bandanna). Will trade for "0",
"Q", "23", "37", “41”, "54", "70", "100", "106".
Write JOURNAL, Box 5427, Mill Valley, CA 94942.
NAT'L PEACE QUILT, full color posters for sale.
$6.50 by mail. Syracuse Cultural Workers, Box
6367B, Syracuse, NY 13217
QUILTERS' JOURNAL now available wholesale to shops
and guilds. The magazine for quilt and textile historians and lovers. Write JOURNAL, Box 5427, Mill Valley, CA 94942
POLITICAL & CAMPAIGN QUILTS" catalogue from 1984 exhibit in Frankfort KY. Photos and descriptions of 30
quilts from museums and private collections. $7.50 +
$1.50 post & handl. Kentucky Heritage Quilt Society.
P 0 Box 23392, Lexington KY 40503.
20
Photo courtesy Sears, Roebuck and Co.
Page 746 of the Sears Roebuck and Co Spring 1934 catalog announcing the contest. Note
the ribbons at the top of the quilt The photograph was evidently turned to the side.
For another story see pg 9
21
Photo: Courtesy Sears, Roebuck and Co.
REGIONAL PRIZE WINNERS ON DISPLAY AT THE 1933 CHICAGO WORLD'S FAIR. (Left to
right) "Stars" by Rose White, Clarkston, WA; "Sunburst" by Mrs Virgil Carpenter,
Hyndman, PA; Unknown; "Spectrum", Edith Matthews, Winnemuca, NE; "Colonial Rose"
by Mabel Langley, Dallas, TE, "Autumn Leaves" by Mary Hilliker, Carol Junction,
MO; "Star of France" by Mrs Dale Combs, Pebworth, KY; "Tea Rose", by Minnie Gau,
Minneapolis, MN.
When this photograph was published in QUILTERS NEWSLETTER MAGAZINE in an article "Looking Back at the Great Quilt Contest" by Barbara Brackman (Issue #156)
a friend noticed the similarity of the then unidentified quilt second from the
left to one exhibited in Eugene Oregon which belonged to Phinneas and Lucille
Kinnamon. Ms Brackman followed the lead, made contact with the Kinnamons and
found it was the quilt in the photo and in addition was the prize winner in the
Los Angeles Regional Contest. The Kinnamons were kind enough to send her the information about the quilt. We are delighted they agreed to share it with our
readers.
The quilt was exhibited at the 1984 West Coast Quilter's Conference in Portland and the Missouri Quilt Conference in Columbia, Missouri with the kind permission of the Kinnamons.